Above from the left:
The Exmoor Contingent:; Carol Burge and Naughty Nipper; the team sets out, big ones followed by little ones.
Endurance
The Club has close links with the local Endurance GB group. Several endurance rides, including of course the famous Golden Horseshoe, take place in West Somerset.
British Riding Clubs Team Event 2011
This year we again had the help of Barbara Wigley and her daughter Nic helping our team qualify for the Endurance Final this year at The College Equestrian Centre in Keysoe, Bedfordshire..
We had two of last year’s team (Carol Burge with Naughty Nipper & Annabelle Gregory with Duska) already ‘up and running’ and really not needing much help from Barbara and Nic as they already knew what was required. They were joined by Sharon Hunt, with her newly acquired (and extremely ‘chubby’) 17 year old Haflinger x Cob – Sunshine, and by new club members Mary & Katie Hannah with their two Exmoor ponies – Kingsby Nutmeg and Kingsby Elderberry.
Although both Mary & Katie had competed in the Exmoor Experience at the Golden Horseshoe, and were well-used to fittening the ponies for endurance, they were worried that the ponies might not be fast enough, and also that they had problems with high pulses at the finish.
Fittening of the horses & ponies began in earnest in late June, in readiness for their first competition at West Moor on 17th July. Sharon had managed to slim Sunshine down drastically, and he looked much more like a fit endurance horse and less like a ‘blob’! Sharon of course is used to riding on Exmoor’s famous ‘chains’ (wet wet boggy ground) so she was fairly comfortable coping with the terrible conditions on the moor that day, and helped to encourage Annabelle and Duska through what must have been a nightmare ride.
The Exmoors of course did what they do best and plugged and skipped their way through bog & mire, fog and wind, and arrived at the finish looking strong. So – all four horses/ponies (Carol was unable to compete here) finished in good time and passed the vetting at the end of what must have been this season’s most testing ride. Many of the EGB members were just pleased to return in one piece, some actually lost shoes on that ride it was so boggy!
The next qualifying ride was Barbury Castle, where all five combinations competed with excellent results. Four of the five then went to the Phoenix Ride from Treborough in August for a final fittener (each pair winning their own ‘pairs class’ at this ride).
The final was at The College Ride in Bedfordshire, and problems happened early – Barbara’s son rang to say that her grand children were on their way (twins), so obviously they would be in hospital and Barbara wouldn’t be able to stay with them in Bedford. So a quick call booked Barbara into the hotel that Carol, her crew Zoe Wilford and I were staying at. – problem solved.
We all set off early Saturday morning, and after a 7+ hours journey arrived at the venue to find that the stables had been ‘double booked’ and were full already with the horses that were taking part in a weekend Lusitano Breed Show! (This was nothing to do with John Hudson the EGB organiser of the RC Endurance Championship but completely down to The College staff who didn’t realise that the Lusitanos would be there for 2 nights!). There were temporary stables available for us, but we arrived in a deluge and the ones allocated were completely flooded. We managed with Johns’ help to have sufficient straw bedding to mop up the flood water & the horses were installed happily.
The next day the horses & ponies performed brilliantly. All three of the big horses completed at 13.7kph and the Exmoors completed at 13.1kph. So much for not being fast enough! 13kph was the bogey speed that they were aiming for. Finishing pulses were 40, 41, 42, 43, & 44, so every horse/pony got a grade 1.
WSRC Endurance team 2011: (from left) Carol Burge with Naughty Nipper, Annabelle Gregory with Duska, Mary Hannah (with her daughter Tamsin)
with Kingsby Nutmeg , Katie Hannah with Kingsby Elderberry and Sharon Hunt
with Sunshine
The team didn’t actually win – they were 5th, but what a fantastic performance from two tiny Exmoors, a Haflinger x Cob, a Warmblood, and a Thoroughbred – not your typical endurance team! All did their personal best at this ride and you can’t ask for more than that. Additionally we now have three members of the team determined to upgrade to Open and compete in the Exmoor Experience (50 miles over 2 days) at Golden Horseshoe next year and two Exmoors who we all know can ‘do the speed’ and ‘not get any pulse penalties’!
As an extra bonus for Barbara she managed to see her first grandchildren Tom & Alice and is now thinking that she might have to invest in a couple of Exmoor ponies!
Thanks must go to all the supporting crew – Annabelle’s efficient crew John, who also used his parents wonderful mobile home to tow Duska and Sunshine, and provide us with a perfect meeting place! Sharon’s partner Ed, Mary’s other daughter ??? who crewed with their cousin ?? And of course this would not have been possible without the experience and help from Barbara and her daughter Nic. I think it is the definitely the ‘A’ team.
Sue Rose
REPORT ON 2010 ACITIVITIES BY Chef d'Equipe Sue Rose
This year we have a new look to our team as Lucy Allison is off doing other things with her big grey Silver Shadow and Hazel Floyd is busy with her new baby, so we have Annabelle Gregory and Duska, Carol Burge and either Naughty Nipper (Hazels' horse) or her own Faer Blue, Sharon Hunt has joined the team with her new horse Sunshine, and we have two new members who joined in order to compete in RC endurance Mary & Katie Hannah with their Exmoor ponies Kingsbury Elderberry and Kingsbury Nutmeg, each of whom did the Exmoor Experience ride at Golden Horseshoe this year. Once again we are grateful to Barbara Wigley and her daughter Nic who are an invaluable source of knowledge and advice and have taught everyone so much about how to crew a horse to its best result.
The qualifying is done this year through regional league tables with the top 2 teams from each region being invited to the final which is taking place in Bedfordshire in mid September.
Our first qualifier took us down to West Down on Bodmin Moor on the most horrendous day you could imagine, with lashing rain and heavy winds, just what you would expect in July! However despite heavy going and deep bogs, with other horses returning with no shoes, our team (excluding Carol on this occasion) came back unscathed albeit soaked to the skin, with a team score of 68.5, which given the conditions was creditable. However we needed to have a better qualification score in order to ensure our place at the final.
The team then went to the Ridgeway Barbary Castle ride in Wiltshire on 14th August, where other RC teams were also competing which was interesting. It was a lovely day and the going was good, with a beautiful rolling downland course including some gallops. We had a full team competing with one individual, plus a good turn out for crewing - absolutely essential as without good crewing they cannot hope to get decent results. The larger horses completed the course on a perfect speed of 13.1 kph, whilst the Exmoor ponies did it on 11.9 kph. With good crewing pulses all came down to really low rates at the end so we ended up with 3 Grade 1s for Carol, Annabelle and Katie, and Sharon and Mary each getting a Grade 2.
CONGRATULATIONS TEAM!
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| The WSRC team of Hazel Floyd (Naughty Nipper), Carol Burge (Faer Blue), Annabelle Gregory (Duska)) and Lucie Allison (Silver Shadow) blast through the finish to take fourth place in the British Riding Club's Endurance Championships in Nottinghamshire on 5th September. |
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| The team that qualified for the final in Wiltshire: Lucie, Carol, Hazel and Julia Holtom ( Rocky) |
The Finals Team before the off. |
Click here for team manager Sue Rose's report of WSRC'S endurance adventure |
Final selection for Riding Club Endurance team
The entries are closed for the 32 km qualifier ride at Kingston Deverell in Wiltshire on 18th July, and our entries were in on time. This qualifier is for the RC Endurance Championships Final to be held on 5th September at Southall Racecourse in Derbyshire. Our team all have non typical 'endurance' horses - not a 15hh Arab in sight! The team consists of Carol & Hazel Burge, Carol with her lovely coloured mare, and Hazel with her chestnut TB cross, both 15hh - 15.2hh, new member Julia Holtom also rides on the team with her tough little roan pony, and the final team member is Lucie Allison with her new ID mare all 16.1hh of her. All these horses have proved to be very fit and come in from good length rides on consistent speeds of 10kph with nice low heart beats, which we are hoping will stand us in good stead.
We also have an individual rider - Annabel Gregory on her mare Duska again hardly a typical endurance horse at 16.3hh WBxTB, who she point-to-pointed a few weeks ago, but Duska too is fit enough to have a low heart beat after fairly testing conditions. Unfortunately Julia will not be able to go to the finals, should we qualify, as her pony reacts badly to flu vaccinations, and as it is on a racecourse all teams have to be fully up to date as per Jockey Club rules, so we are planning that Annabel will ride on the team at the final if all goes well and to plan. Watch this space for news or visit http://www.rcteamevent.endurancegb.co.uk/html/class08.html which is the link to the ride on 18th July and it will give the results afterwards!
Anyone interested in getting involved in RC Endurance, please contact Sue Rose on 01643 841411 or e-mail on susan_rose@btconnect.com.
Final selection ride for the WSRC Endurance Team
We have having our final selection ride over about 16 miles from Comers Gate ,Winsford Hill on Saturday 19th June, following the various pleasure rides which we have been using as training rides. Members who wish to be considered for the team should present themselves at Comers Gate at 10.30 on that day. We are luck to have the help of Barbara Wigley and hopefully her daughter Nic with our preparation. Barbara has been on the national selection team for Endurance GB so knows what to look for! Nic has competed internationally as a Junior. We will be doing an initial trot up, a tack & shoeing check, just as there will be at the regionals. You also need to provide at least one crew, who should have in the crew car - water containers, buckets, sponges and rugs.
We will be watching how you tackle the course, how your crew works with you, and we will check heart rates (horses!!) at half way and the end. Obviously advice from Barbara & hopefully Nic is on hand.
The Final if we qualify is at Southwell Racecourse, Nottinghamshire on 5th September and you will be finishing down the all weather straight! The distance is the same - 32 kms http://www.rcteamevent.endurancegb.co.uk/html/thefinal.html . We will for that have to have up to date flu vaccs because it is on a racecourse, and I will have to have a copy of it to go with the entries, but first things first - let's qualify!
Any queries please ring me Sue on 01643 841411 (leave a message if I am not there & I will call you back)
West Somerset Riding Club takes a more active interest in Endurance Riding this year.
WSRC is looking for at least 8 people interested in forming perhaps two teams, to compete in the local regional qualifier, the Phoenix Ride from Treborough Common on August 22nd. The distance will be approximately 20 miles or 34km. Individuals and juniors (12 years old or over) can also take part. For those successful at Treborough the final is to take place during the summer of 2011 at Cirencester Park
The Club really needs as many people interested as possible because reserves may be needed, depending on the horse situation, as well as people to support the competitors en route. If we cannot get a team fit enough for this competition in this area, then we are sadly lacking!
TRAINING AND FUN RIDES
For more information about endurance riding in the area visit the Wessex Group of Endurance GB
Wesex EGB organised a mounted treasure hunt on each year on Exmoor. 2009 Report here
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